Orange County

Big Bend Loop

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is just one component of south Orange ­County’s 20,000-acre swath of coastal open-space parkland that is open to all kinds of non-motorized travel. The Big Bend Loop trail route (which takes ...

Upper Hot Spring Canyon

Silent, except for the gentle gurgle of water over stone, upper Hot Spring Canyon is an easy-to-reach hideaway in the Santa Ana Mountains, not very far from a pair of Cleveland National Forest campgrounds. Those ...

Bedford Peak

The no-nonsense climb (2200 feet of elevation gain) to Bedford Peak, one of the principal summits along the Santa Ana Mountains’ “Main Divide,” is both physically demanding and scenically rewarding. The latter is especially true ...

Hike to Orange County's micro Grand Canyon in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains.

In 1991 Orange County opened the 1500-acre Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, which sprawls across the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains just east of the communities of Lake Forest and El Toro. One surprise can ...

Travel over viewful ridges and down a verdant canyon in Orange County's Crystal Cove State Park.

The Deer Canyon loop route in Crystal Cove State Park explores the higher ridges and valleys of Orange County's coastal mountain range -- the San Joaquin Hills. Hikers should budget about four hours for the ...

Enjoy a panorama of mountains, blue ocean, and plenty of urban sprawl from Orange County's Robbers Peak.

The name Robbers Peak commemorates the notorious outlaws Joaquin Murietta, Three Finger Jack, and others of the late 1800s. Swooping down out of the hills, these bandits terrorized farmers below and preyed upon passengers traveling ...

Catch a panoramic view of south Orange County's coastline from Seaview Park in Laguna Niguel.

Starting from Seaview Park in the city of Laguna Niguel, a brief walk on a popular trail will take you past several interpretive panels annotating the common species of coastal vegetation found throughout coastal Southern ...

Emerald Canyon in Orange County's Laguna Coast Wilderness Park attracts hikers and mountain bikers.

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is a spacious Orange County preserve covering several thousand acres of natural landscape adjacent to Laguna Beach. Emerald Canyon, one of its finer natural features, carves its way down a three-mile ...

Orange County's new Bell View Regional Trail offers wide views of far-flung suburbs and brooding mountains.

The Bell View Regional Trail, for hikers, equestrians, and cyclists, starts as a "community trail" threading through the suburban-edge communities of Rancho Santa Margarita and Coto de Caza. It then assumes a wilder character as ...

Orange County's El Modena Open Space perches like an island above the L. A. Basin sprawl.

The mile-long El Modena Open Space in the city of Orange preserves a steep-sided, miniature mountain range, clothed in a tough mixture of drought-resistant cactus and sage-scrub vegetation. Underfoot, you'll find colorful andesite and pyroclastic ...